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Items Library

The Items Library is your organization-wide inventory — shared across projects, separate from a single project’s Items tab. Open it from Organization → Items. From there you can browse stock, add items, manage categories, and import a CSV.

For what an Item record is (fields, purchases, project linking), see Items.

Categories vs tags

Category — one primary bucket per item (Hand Props, Soft Goods, Lighting, etc.). Manage the list under Items → Manage categories. When creating or importing, Distro can suggest from your org list and a default theatre / production bank.

Tags — many flexible labels per item for filtering (department, look, material, period, and so on). System and org tags both appear in search; create org-specific tags when nothing fits. Edit tags on the item detail page.

Rule of thumb: category = the shelf; tags = the sticky notes on the box.

Locations on library items

An item can point at an org location (warehouse, cage, truck). Name is enough to start; add address and photos later in the Locations Library. CSV import can create name-only locations the same way.

Import inventory CSV

Use Import CSV on the Items Library to upload a spreadsheet (max 5MB). The wizard walks you through:

  1. Map columns (name and quantity are required).
  2. Resolve categories — each distinct CSV category label gets one decision for every row with that label. You can’t split one label into two categories in the wizard; edit the CSV if you need that.
  3. Resolve tags the same way (one decision per distinct tag string).
  4. Resolve locations (map existing, create name-only, or skip).
  5. Preview counts, then commit. Large files can take a few minutes.

Bulk actions on the resolve steps: Accept suggestions only applies when there’s a close match; Keep all as custom creates from the CSV names; Skip leaves that field empty on those items. Watch the status chips and progress count so you know what’s still unresolved.

Who can manage the library

Creating and editing library items requires the appropriate items capability for your org role. See Roles & Permissions.

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